parental

[ puh-ren-tl ]
See synonyms for parental on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of or relating to a parent.

  2. proper to or characteristic of a parent: parental feelings.

  1. having the relation of a parent

  2. Genetics. pertaining to the sequence of generations preceding the filial generation, each generation being designated by a P followed by a subscript number indicating its place in the sequence.

nounUsually the parentals .
  1. Informal. one's parent: I'm headed for a vacation with the parentals.: Also called pa·ren·tal u·nit [puh-ren-tl yoo-nit] /pəˈrɛn tl ˈyu nɪt/ .

Origin of parental

1
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin parentālis “of, belonging to parents,” equivalent to parent- “parent” + -ālis adjective suffix; see parent, -al1

Other words from parental

  • pa·ren·tal·ly, adverb
  • in·ter·par·en·tal, adjective
  • non·pa·ren·tal, adjective
  • non·pa·ren·tal·ly, adverb
  • post·pa·ren·tal, adjective
  • un·pa·ren·tal, adjective
  • un·pa·ren·tal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use parental in a sentence

  • The parentally favored candidate for Mary's hand, he finds it, evidently, too hard to give it up without a struggle.

  • So our fate was fixed, parentally, and we have been educated for each other.

    Eugene Pickering | Henry James
  • Parentally, we care only for our own: socially, we care for all.

    Concerning Children | Charlotte Perkins Gilman
  • Parentally, we are animals: socially, we learn to love one another.

    Concerning Children | Charlotte Perkins Gilman
  • "Don't excite yourself, Mr. Hardie," put in the doctor parentally.

    Hard Cash | Charles Reade

British Dictionary definitions for parental

parental

/ (pəˈrɛntəl) /


adjective
  1. of or relating to a parent or parenthood

  2. genetics designating the first generation in a line, which gives rise to all succeeding (filial) generations

Derived forms of parental

  • parentally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012